The suit is not about peaceful protest. It does not impact anyone's Section 2 rights.
The suit is about harassment, intimidation, torture, air pollution, racism, sexism, intolerance, shutting down businesses and putting people out of work for weeks, and other criminal activities that are not protected by Section 2.
No one gave a fuck about these idiots and their tantrum until they started committing crimes.
They fucked around and they are now finding out. That's what they always say, isn't it?
They came to Ottawa to commit their crimes they should be tried in Ottawa. Want to be tried in Upper Rubber Boot, Alberskatchetoba? Commit your crimes there.
Thereโs still very low understanding of how devastating and threatening the convoy protests were for the residents and businesses in the core of Ottawa.
Residents, businesses and people who work downtown in Ottawa roll with protests day-in and out. Large ones usually are usually respectful of the legal limits, and local people know how to plan their days to avoid them if they need to.
This protest damaged hearing with unremitting high decibel air horns, polluted the air with weeks of nonstop truck emissions, actively harassed, intimidated and threatened local residents trying to get to work and essential services, filled the streets with garbage and feces.
They also created significant fire hazards and risked major explosions, including by creating a large stash of gasoline in tanks in Confederation Park - directly across the street from city hall, an armoury, and close to a high school as well as right across the narrow Rideau canal from National Defence headquarters.
But it was the utter lack of consideration for the most vulnerable that truly showed the incredible selfishness and lack of compassion of the protesters.
There are many lower income, disabled and senior residents in coop apartments downtown. Many rely on visiting services from care workers who could not get through the protests on most days. A small proportion had family and friends who were able to host them outside the area of the protests, most were trapped, isolated and terrorized.
Low understanding is an understatement. I have heard too many neighbours refer to it as a trucker strike and state they actually came close to deposing Trudeau because that's what facebook told them. I hope I've convinced a few of them to start getting their news from actual journalists, but I'm not very confident.
Alberskatchetoba is the center of white rage in Canada. The feel that the majority look down on them as dumb, backwards, intolerant, hateful, racist, bigots and that makes them angry. Their seething resentment at their belief that everyone else thinks they are better than them drives them. For many all that matters anymore is hurting the people that they think think are better than them.
I have a friend who grew up in a northern town in Alberskatchetoba. Her family went all in with the tantrumists. They were protecting our rights and they were going to stay in Ottawa until Trudeau was gone and all the mandates were lifted. She tried but ended up cutting off contract with some of her family.
Yes. They voted for successive governments that gave them a pittance while allowing corporations to take billions of dollars of provincial resource wealth out of the province without contributing anything to the eventual cleanup costs. Then, when the wells dry up or demand drops and they abandon the wells the people who received that pittance will pay it back 100 fold to clean up the mess.
But at least the government told them they were spacial that whole time which is all that matters to them. That's where the white rage comes from. You're not special because you live in Alberta anymore. You're not special because you're "christian" anymore. You're not special because you're white anymore. You're not special because you're male anymore. You're not special because you're straight anymore. You're not special because you were born here anymore. That leads to aggrieved entitlement which results in seething resentment.
Everybody's gotta have somebody to look down on
Whom they can be better than at any time they please.
Someone doin' somethin' dirty the decent folks can frown on
If you can't find nobody else then help yourself to me.
I love that the government suddenly cares about air pollution when it comes to the protests but doesn't otherwise care about air pollution in our cities by investing in walkability, transit and more green infrastructure.
Who said anything about the government? It's private citizens who were the innocent victims of the tantrum who are suing because they were subjected to weeks of diesel and other fumes.